Employment law in Canada continued to evolve in 2023. Courts and tribunals across the country dealt with issues ranging from notice periods and fixed-term contractor agreements to the tort of harassment and time theft. While there were a number of notable decisions, here are some highlights from 2023 Canadian case laws.
In Mechalchuk v. Galaxy Motors (1990) Ltd., the Supreme Court of British Columbia found that the plaintiff’s employment was terminated for just cause because he submitted fraudulent business expenses worth approximately C$250. Mr. Mechalchuk submitted meal expense receipts under the guise of the meals having been business related, when in fact, they were personal meals with his spouse. The court found that Mr. Mechalchuk was dishonest to his employer and breached its trust. He also failed to “come clean” when he was given an opportunity to do so. This was sufficient to support just cause for Mr. Mechalchuk’s termination. This shows that employees’ fraudulent actions may be just cause for termination, even if the monetary cost is low.
In 2023, Ontario courts confirmed that notice periods longer than 24 months will only be awarded in exceptional circumstances. For example, in Milwid v. IBM Canada Ltd., the court awarded damages based on a 27-month notice period, emphasizing that it was due to exceptional circumstances, including that...
A video shows the Green Party celebrating an election win in a foreign language. False. This video was posted before the election. It is a Bengali language campaign video posted by the Green Party ...